THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
(Christmas Day)
Hymns: 105, 97, 98, 95, 94
Titus 3:4-7 —
“The Kindness and the Love of God Our Savior Toward Man Appeared”
Grace, mercy, and peace to you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Epistle reading appointed for Christmas Day, the Nativity of our Lord, is Titus 3:4-7:
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction
Last night we heard of the angelic heralding of the Gospel to shepherds who were abiding in the fields with their flocks. Today we hear of the power of that good news. The angels were sent to proclaim this Word of grace to these men on the outskirts of Bethlehem in order that they would receive the everlasting blessings that God poured forth from heaven for mankind, and that they would serve as our teachers regarding what God in His mercy desires for us all.
I. The Kindness and the Philanthropy Epiphanied
The Epistle reading appointed for this day of the Nativity of our Lord is a portion of St. Paul’s epistle to Pastor Titus, whom the apostle left in Crete to continue the work of the ministry there. St. Paul reminds Titus of what this means, saying that Titus had been left there to “ set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city.” While Titus surely knew these things, the dear apostle sent him this letter both as a reminder and form of encouragement not to doubt what he knew to be God’s will in these things, but also to affirm to those under his care that he was indeed doing as the apostle had instructed. Thus this letter has been preserved for us today so that we may know the true form of the ministry through which God comes to us to bring us into His salvation and to pour out upon us the blessings of His everlasting kingdom.
This portion of this epistle explains the ongoing ministry of the Lord Jesus through the pastoral ministry. And so in this portion St. Paul says: “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.” This is the purpose of the ministry of Jesus Christ, the ministry that actually began back in the garden of Eden when the Gospel of salvation was first proclaimed, but was brought into the fullness of salvific activity with the virgin bearing fruit into the world that precious seed that the Holy Spirit had implanted in her through the announcement of the angel Gabriel. As St. Paul literally says of this great miracle: “When now the kindness and the philanthropy epiphanied of the Savior of us of God, . . .”
The birth of Jesus into the world through Mary is the epiphany or manifestation of the kindness and manly-affection of the Savior of us, God. St. Paul truly packs a great deal into a sentence or phrase! Wow! This is what the angel proclaimed to the shepherds that sent them running to Bethlehem to “see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us.” When the angel first appeared to these men out in the fields with their flocks, the men were sore afraid. Luke actually writes: “and they were afraid, Fear-Mega!” Our translation says this rather powerfully telling us that they were sore afraid, that is, afraid to the point of hurting. Yes, Mega-Fear! This is what we sinners experience when we come face to face with the glory of God.
But this is not what God wants. God wants us to know that He comes so that we may experience the epiphany of the advent of His kindness and manly-affection. This is daddy talk. This is how a daddy approaches his dear children. Though a daddy may be 15 to 30 times larger than the child and at least that much more powerful, a daddy manifests himself as a gentle and kindly and affectionate father. And though the Lord is Mega-powerful and big and fearsome, this is how He comes and manifests Himself to us. He comes to us as a helpless baby who is dependent upon Mary and Joseph, growing to be a man who offers healing and forgiveness and comfort, finally giving Himself completely for us in sacrificial redemption of mankind.
Before going to the cross, however, He ordained the means through which His ministry would continue until the day of His second advent, the means that St. Paul would ordain Pastor Titus to administer in Crete, and furthermore to ordain others to administer in every city. Through these ordained means of grace, the kindness and manly-affection of the Savior of us, God, is manifested to us in His holy Church today.
II. Through the Washing of Regeneration and Renewing of the Holy Spirit
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Is it any wonder that the angel told the shepherds: “Behold! I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people!”? It is any wonder that St. Paul so excitedly shared this message, even immediately upon being baptized into this miracle himself?
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done!” Not even the work of believing? That’s right. Believing is not our work! It is God’s gift that He works in us, just like it was with the shepherds that night long ago! They did not decide to believe. They did not choose to believe. The message worked this in them and they responded to this faith by running to see what the Lord had made known to them. They went to where they were promised that their salvation would be found. And just as it was told to them by the angel, so they heard and saw the epiphany of the kindness and manly-love of their Savior God.
Is it not amazing that these men did not ask how this could be? That is the way that the Holy Spirit works. So what of those who today deny what St. Paul teaches in our epistle for this day? St. Paul says that this miracle of God’s mercy is worked in us not through anything that we do, but through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit! Can we believe that the little babe born of the virgin and lying in a stinky manger is God’s answer to all of our problems and then deny that through water and Spirit that He can wash us into His kingdom of mercy? Our kindly and manly-affectionate Father provides the way for His Holy Spirit to be poured out to us with the faith that He generates in us, entirely independent of anything whatsoever that we do. This is indeed good tidings of great joy! Our affectionate Father assures us that this is how the salvation that He has worked for us is received by us, entirely by His merciful activity and entirely apart from, and in fact in spite of, any attempt on our part! This is glorious news! It means that as long as salvation is counted as through this divinely ordained means that we cannot mess it up!
III. Which He Shed on Us Abundantly Through Jesus Christ Our Savior
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
This is what we celebrate in Christmas! The Holy Spirit has been poured out to us and continues to be poured out upon us through Jesus Christ the Savior of us. Do you get it? Jesus Christ is the Word. When the Word is used in connection with the water as Jesus has commanded, then the Spirit is present in the water through the Word to do what Jesus promises! Is this not the way that Jesus told His apostles that it would be? He said that He would send the Holy Spirit to teach them all things and that the Spirit would say what Jesus says. The Scriptures that the Holy Spirit inspired holy men to write teach that in Baptism the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit are given to the baptized, to the parents and to their children, and even to those who are far off who have not yet heard this glorious good news.
This is wonderful news! Our kindly and affectionate Savior God was born into the world in flesh and blood for this very purpose. He has done it. He saved the world from sin. He has justified the entire human race through giving Himself for us into the suffering and death of the cross so that through this marvelous ministry of the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit what has been declared to be ours is actually received by us so that we actually receive this inheritance that is ours through Jesus Christ the Savior of us. It is as we pray continually in the General Prayer: “And in every time of trouble show Thyself a very present Help, the Savior of all men, and especially of them that believe.”
Indeed, good tidings of great joy! Good tidings of great joy! Fear not! Immanuel, Jesus, is come into the world. All that He has accomplished for sinful mankind according to the kindness and manly-affection of our God, all that has been declared to be ours through Him, is poured out to us in our baptism so that we are made to be everlasting partakers of the flesh and blood communion of life everlasting!
Conclusion
Merry and blessed Christ Mass! Oh yes, indeed! Today is a day of great celebration. Today we hear again the invitation of our kindly and manly-affectionate Savior God. The epiphany of His kindness and manly-affection is set before us so that we may see it and smell it and touch it and taste it and consume it. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus forever. Amen.
THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
(Christmas Day)
Hymns: 105, 97, 98, 95, 94
The Introit (Is.9:6;Ps.98:1a)
P: Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given:C: and the government shall be upon His shoulder.
P: And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God:
C: the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
P: Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song:
C: for He hath done marvelous things.
The Collect
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the new birth of Thine only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free, who are held in the old bondage under the yoke of sin; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy son, our Lord, who liveth, and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
The First Lesson Micah 5:2-4
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
The Gradual (Ps.98:2-4; 95:1,6)
P: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God;C: make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth.
P: The Lord hath made known His salvation;
C: His righteousness hath He openly showed in the sight of the heathen. Alleluia! Alleluia!
P: Oh, come, let us sing unto the Lord;
C: let us worship and bow down before Him. Alleluia!
The Epistle Titus 3:4-7
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
The Holy Gospel St. Luke 2:15-20
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Titus 3:4 When now the kindness and the philanthropy epiphanied of the Savior of us of God . . .
Titus 3:4-7 —
“The Kindness and the Love of God Our Savior Toward Man Appeared”
Introduction
I. The Kindness and the Philanthropy Epiphanied
II. Through the Washing of Regeneration and Renewing of the Holy Spirit
III. Which He Shed on Us Abundantly Through Jesus Christ Our Savior
Conclusion
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